Are You an Amateur or Professional? What Separates Agency Leaders and Producers Who Scale 

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There’s a military axiom that goes, “Amateurs talk tactics, but professionals study logistics.” Originally applied to warfare, this principle highlights a core concept of strategy: Winning battles requires that every soldier is equipped, supplied, and supported. Victory hinges on logistics, which means you have to think many steps ahead of where you sit today.  

It's the same concept that differentiates the best employee benefits agency leaders and salespeople from the mediocre ones.   

The difference between tactics and logistics 

Tactics are the short-term, immediate actions we take to win something in front of us today: a short-term marketing campaign, a persuasive sales pitch, or a layoff to maintain a budget. I’m not saying we shouldn’t think about these items. We should very much do so within the right context.  

Logistics, on the other hand, are the behind-the-scenes systems, processes, and relationships that ensure long-term success. Think sales and service processes, culture, communications, hiring, and employee development. 

Amateurs and many early-stage businesses focus on quick wins and visible successes. Seasoned professionals invest in the fundamentals that make those wins repeatable, scalable, and sustainable. 

What logistics mean for agency owners 

Agency owners who have moved into the professional category recognize that they need to focus on and prioritize building robust operational systems and developing scalable processes. 

Growth as an organizational priority 

In a scaling agency, growth becomes a non-negotiable focus for the organization, not something that happens only after you’ve handled everything else or when new deals have dried up. These organizations set aggressive growth goals and hold everyone accountable for achieving them. They also ensure, through training and coaching, that new business development is always on the calendar alongside client retention activities. 

People: Team development and role clarity 

These growing agencies recognize that investing in their people by building a strong, skilled, and engaged team is their secret sauce for growing and scaling.  

Insurance agencies are notorious for being cheap and not wanting to invest in themselves, their team, or their tech infrastructure. When leaders make the mental transition from tactical to logistical management, they want to ensure everyone is in the right role, understands what is expected of them, and encourages ongoing team involvement in the development of the business. The companies that inspire people also prioritize a healthy, positive work culture and environment. 

Process: Operational efficiency 

Developing and following consistent processes is the hallmark of a maturing organization. For an employee benefits agency, there should be streamlined and well-documented processes to improve productivity, minimize risk, and create predictable results for six key areas: sales, marketing, client onboarding, ongoing and elevated service, client renewals, and team member management.  

You can’t do everything at once, so you build your way to this goal and then focus on continuous improvement to ensure your operations support growth and a great client experience. 

By mastering these logistics, agency owners can more effectively attract and retain clients, streamline administrative burdens, and maintain high employee satisfaction—key drivers of long-term success. 

What logistics mean for salespeople 

For salespeople, the temptation is to focus on tactics such as prospecting lists, scripts, presentation materials, and technology (or lack thereof). However, as they mature in their strategic sophistication, they know that long-term success comes from working with the right clients aligned with the agency’s intentions, so there is a fit across all parties.  

Employee benefits folks are often in the business of helping people. To effectively help employers and their employees, they must develop healthy and sustainable relationships, which means meeting new people, filtering for the right fit, and closing the business.  

Consistent prospecting 

Our logistics-focused salespeople keep the pipeline full by making prospecting a regular, scheduled activity, not just something to do when business is slow. These growth-focused producers prioritize it by making repeating, non-negotiable appointments on their calendar.  

Pipeline management 

Building their book of business with the right kind of opportunities that align with their ideal client profile becomes a standard practice. They recognize there is no room for clients who are not aligned with their mission. When they identify a quality prospect, they keep them moving forward through their sales process, always making progress toward their goals.   

Personal accountability and goal setting 

Goal setting, accountability, and achievement are personal requirements for professional-level salespeople. They identify key prospects, manage their time, track key performance indicators, and hold themselves accountable even if others don’t. They review weekly progress and hopefully celebrate successes along the way.  

How you think makes all the difference 

I listened to a conversation between Simon Sinek and Trevor Noah exploring the distinction between tactical and strategic thinking in leadership. Tactical thinkers are great at getting things done in the short term—they’re in the weeds, handling details, and solving immediate problems. Strategic thinkers, however, look at the big picture: They anticipate long-term consequences, build systems, and focus on sustainable growth, just like our professionals who study logistics. 

What I found fascinating about the conversation is how Simon observes these two types of leaders.  He sees that the best strategic leaders know their tactical limitations and surround themselves with people who excel at execution.  

Conversely, tactical leaders promoted into strategic roles often believe they’re good at strategy, but their thinking is too short-term and narrow. They focus on pulling levers for quick results, without considering the long-term impact on the organization. 

If your plans and conversations don’t extend beyond the quarter or the year, I recommend finding a coach or someone to join the team who thinks on a longer-term scale. This will challenge you and your team to stretch out your thinking and begin considering the consequences that today’s actions will have on tomorrow’s results.  

Sustainable success in the employee benefits industry comes from mastering the fundamentals of agency operations: marketing, sales, service, and leadership. Step away from clever tactics or marketing gimmicks and focus on building systems and relationships to help you create reliable, repeatable, scalable performance. 

Those who master logistics build agencies that thrive for years.